a food journey

Posts from the “Prioritizing Me” Category

I’m still trying to prioritize myself these days and I’m doing better. I also finished my first week (back) on Weight Watchers. I’ve done this before and had great success and then I just straight up had a baby and decided to boycott counting anything. That baby will be 4-years-old in June, so I figured I have officially entered the “you don’t really have a baby excuse anymore.” After completing my first week, I am pleased to announce that I’ve lost 3 pounds. Sure, it could be on account of clothes, water intake, and time of day, but I am CLAIMING those 3 pounds no matter what.

First, let’s talk exercise. I’m finding that walking this cute dog every day actually makes me happy. I try to get in a 30 minute walk before work and that logs in 2 fit points each time. I managed to walk 5 out of 7 days last week.

Now let’s talk food. I wish there was some magical potion to drink that makes the food part click, but it isn’t rocket science. Calories In. Calories Out. I’m writing everything down, which means I can’t “forget” that burger I ordered instead of the salad. I can’t “forget” about that extra beer. I can’t “forget” about that random handful of the kids’ goldfish crackers I ate on the ride home. Or the chicken nuggets they didn’t finish. Or the fries they didn’t finish (I mean, who doesn’t finish fries???). I’m writing it all down and once you start writing it down you completely understand how all “this” happened.

I’m excited about some meals I made this week because they were easy to make, low in points, and filling. I thought I would post them here if you are looking for meal ideas for the week.

First up: My lightened up version of tacos inspired by my Taco Morro Loco obsession. Did my tacos taste like Taco Morro Loco? No. I mean, who are we kidding? But it did satisfy my craving for a taco and the ingredients were similar. I started with 2 corn tortillas (3 points). I added a very small amount of non-fat greek yogurt (0 pts) and sprinkled Trader Joe’s Lime Chile Seasoning on it. Then I layered with lettuce (0 pts), ground turkey cooked in taco seasoning (0 pts) and roasted peppers and onions (1 pt thanks to the olive oil).

Then I had this crazy idea to make a chickpea salad. I combined chickpeas, diced sweet potatoes, diced celery, diced carrots, and diced dill pickle. I mixed together 2 tbs of Mayo (1 pt), 2 tbs of greek yogurt (0 pts) and added celery salt, salt, and pepper. I stirred it all together and added to a pita (2 pts for half a loaf) and a cup of fresh spinach (0 pts). I was full all afternoon.

Has it been hard to track and limit what I’m used to eating? Yes. Does it take time to prep? Yes. Does it feel good to have some structure and order to my meals? Yes. Do I want a french fry? Yes. But, I’m doing it. Or at least trying to…

When I used to plan meals for the week, I’d be on my feet in the kitchen for at least 5 or 6 hours. Since I converted to the Instant Pot, my Sunday routine has been cut down from SIX to TWO hours. I know a lot of you may have not had luck with the Instant Pot or perhaps don’t believe the hype and that is totally okay, but I’m 100% converted. Like, Instant Pot Believer over here. Let’s jump in and see what I managed to cook in less than 2 hours this morning.

While the soup was cooking, I started on this Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken Enchilada Skillet. I had left over rotisserie chicken from last week, which was perfect to use in this recipe. I used canned everything (black beans, chicken stock, and enchilada sauce). You can do you and make it from scratch if you’d like. I made it on the stove and then stuck it in the oven to finish it off.

While the Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken Enchilada Skillet was baking, I quickly cooked some ground sirloin with taco seasoning. I plan to give this to the kiddos this week because God forbid they have to eat something like chicken enchiladas or lentils.

Skinnytaste’s recipes are easy to follow, always delicious, can be counted via calorie-counter or Weight Watchers, and she has a treasure trove of Instant Pot recipes. She’s like the perfect guide if you are starting new this year and trying to be accountable calorie-wise and she’s especially helpful if you happened to get an Instant Pot over the holidays. Win. Win.

I’m doing okay. Been walking with the dog. Haven’t stuck to my podcast and book plan. Haven’t really counted my calories…and if we are being honest, I ate the chicken nuggets my kid didn’t finish tonight. I can’t leave a chicken nugget on the table…ever. I also can’t resist ordering fries, but that’s a story for a different time. I have, however, been more intentional and I’m writing this post now, so that is worth celebrating.

Something super cool happened this week. I stopped by Jones Valley Teaching Farm’s downtown farm to say hello to my colleagues. It’s kind of hard to do this as often as I’d like given the EIGHT locations we operate. Yes, eight. It seems I’m always running from one place to another. The truth is, I don’t get to see the sites as often as I’d like and I rarely make enough time to stop and get the produce we grow, which is absolutely ridiculous. So when Jesse, our Senior Farm Manager, asked me very simply, “Do you want to get some produce while you are here?” I was like, “YES. YES, I DO.”

When I first started Food Revival, it was all about documenting the CSA box I got each week from Jones Valley Teaching Farm (then Jones Valley Urban Farm). This was NINE years ago. I volunteered my time at the farm and I got a box of produce in exchange for my efforts. Little did I know that this blog would be a platform to highlight the vegetables I got each week. I called it the CSA Challenge. Nine years and two kids later, I’m the Executive Director of Jones Valley Teaching Farm and I’m barely finding the time to pick up the veggies much less cook them. Thanks to Jesse that changed this week.

Look at this broccolini. It is delicious and yes, you can eat the flowers. I followed THISBarefoot Contessa recipe and even though the recipe worked perfectly, the broccolini was truly the star.

And look at this Romanesco. What is Romanesco? (I asked the same question.) It’s a member of the cruciferous family (think broccoli, cabbage, kale), but it is MOST like cauliflower. I simply cut its florets off and sprayed with a little olive oil, sprinkled some salt and pepper over it, and roasted on a sheet pan for 20 or so minutes. Then I seasoned it with some chili lime seasoning I got at Trader Joe’s.

Speaking of cauliflower, look at these beauties I got from the farm! I roasted them whole. I used olive oil and butter as the base and on one I sprinkled with cumin and the other with the chili lime seasoning I mentioned earlier. I think I’ll try a garlic Parmesan recipe next (like this one).

So, no I haven’t found the perfect balance. I have, however, found SOME balance and if you remember what I said when I first started this new year, that’s just fine. Some is better than none. As I close this post I want to say THANK YOU to Jesse for reminding me to get my favorite veggies on the planet. I want to say THANK YOU to the farmers I work with because they grow the best food. I also want to celebrate the fact that I’m still connected to Jones Valley Teaching Farm and that FoodRevival still exists. This journey has been wonderful and hard and all the things in between and beyond.

P.S. We also did a fun family taste test between store-bought carrots and the carrots I picked up from the farm. You’ll never guess the winner (unless you’ve had JVTF’s carrots because then you already know).

What incredibly brilliant and successful things have you done in 2019? You’ve had FIVE days, so your answers better be good. bwahahaha. Kidding. Promise.

I can’t begin to tell you how much better I feel on day five of 2019 having re-started my goals realistically. I haven’t lost 5 lbs. I haven’t even started counting calories…yet. I’ve only walked twice and I didn’t time myself or track how far I went – I just straight up walked around the block a few times. I’m counting that as exercise because it is way more than I ever did last month (okay, months/year(s)). I just decided to start slow and that seems to give me a bit more confidence.

So let’s talk about some victories:

I carried my trusty notebook that isn’t online and that NOBODY else has access to around all week and I documented my successes, so let’s just count this as the first victory. In other words, I haven’t lost the notebook in week one and that’s kind of a miracle.

I’ve managed to do something for myself every day. Let’s start at Wednesday since I’ve already documented Monday and Tuesday.

WednesdayWell, this was my first official day back at work after a long break. I managed to stick to my schedule and even spent some time with a friend later in the afternoon. I was super sick the month of December and really needed some time to heal, which the break gave me. This year (work-wise) promises to be incredibly busy, so I’m really trying to pace myself. (So all in all? I think it was a successful day).

ThursdayI walked this dog.

FridayI bought tickets to Southern Voices this year and got second row tickets to see Bryan Stevenson (no, I don’t get any special treatment from the husband even though he works there). They sold out in less than a minute, so this is definitely a success. I surprised my friend, Val, at her office and spent some time catching up. I’ve been missing her lately, so I carved out some time to hug her neck and just be with her and that was a definite success. I sat by myself and ate my favorite sandwich from the Garage for lunch. I also finished the day with my colleagues at Carrigan’s. So, very successful day.

SaturdayI walked (for myself) and then I walked the dog.

I started Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and my goal is to make it through 2 chapters this weekend.

I ordered vitamins (something that’s been on my to do list). Seriously? Is this what 41-year-old working women with two kids document as successful? Gawd.

I finished off Skinnytaste’s Fiesta Bean Salad I featured the other day on this blog. Y’all need to try this. It’s got some garlic in it, so prep everyone after you eat it, but it is super easy and I had it over fresh spinach every day this week (well, except for that delicious garage café sandwich).

I know these aren’t like life milestones or anything, but I’m trying to stay accountable and get back to writing. I’m going to do a little more of that tomorrow as well. So, here’s to 2019. Scratch that. I don’t need that kind of pressure. Here’s to the FIFTH day of 2019. Now, that’s better. I hope you’ve had some wins this week – or even just one itty bitty win. Space and grace as we go.

If you read my post yesterday, you already know that I’m trying to start 2019 differently by incorporating personal goals in each day. You know, the things I want to accomplish for myself that have nothing to do with anything other than satisfying my own needs/goals/wants. This is new for me. Seems completely obvious that it shouldn’t be new, but it is.

So today I got up earlier than normal. I sat still with Mae Mae on the sofa without scrolling through my phone.

I finally finished the Ezra Klein podcast featuring Bryan Stevenson. This is an incredibly important podcast to listen to and I really hope all of you take some time to do so (thanks to my husband and Ann Laurel for sending it my way).

I cooked while listening to the podcast. How extraordinary is that? Well, minus the time when Mike walked in and had to turn off the garbage disposal that had to have been running for 15 minutes since I couldn’t hear it. But besides that (and maybe not hearing when the dog was play biting Mae or when Martin Everitt was trying to get my attention), it was awesome.

And I made a big breakfast to start our year off right complete with bacon, grits, toast, and eggs.

And I’m writing all of it to you on this blog, which is also a goal of mine.

I’m feeling really good about my own personal Day One. No, I’m not writing down my calories today or exercising. I’m starting simple, but I’m determined to get to all the other things eventually and am also feeling like this: